Sunday, July 01, 2007

Extracurricular == curricular.

In one sense it's kind of silly to regret that I don't have more time to spend on the things that I enjoy, because I own my time to a very great extent. I work a lot, but I could work less (and mostly I enjoy work). Like everyone else, I have some day-to-day errands and logistics that I need to take care of, but not so many. And so what it comes down to is that mostly I send my time doing the things that I choose to do... and yet I still find that I don't have enough time to do the things that I would choose to do if I had more time.

I run a lot. Outside of work, this is probably the biggest time investment that I make in a single activity week in and week out. But I wish I could run even more, spend more time seeking out new and interesting trails (of which there are many within an hour or two of where I live). Running is my main time outside and I cherish it.

I read a lot. But no matter how much time I spent reading, I have the feeling that I would find it inadequate.

I write some and wish I wrote more. And now we start getting into regrets about time. I feel this as a distinct lack. I feel it as an occupational gap to a medium-large extent. And yet I find it hard to make some of the choices about prioritization that I would need to make in order to address the gap.

I don't swim at all. Though I love it, though every time I travel I end up swimming and resolving that I need to run less and swim more, I nevertheless come back to my normal routines and never manage to change them in this regard. I think it's because, unlike running, where I can just put on my shoes first thing in the morning and go, swimming has a process built in. The barrier to entry is not high, but it is an inconvenience.

I hike occasionally, but not as much as I would like. Most of my outdoor time is running, and truth be told, I'd always rather trail run than hike. But Chris hikes and he doesn't trail run, so this is something that we can do together.

I used to watch movies voraciously, and now I do only sometimes. I'm not sure what happened here. There has been a switch in the last year. Before I worked as much, I had time for more reading and more movies. Now that I don't have as much time for both, I guess reading wins for me.

I cook often, and now that we have a nice farmers' market so close to our house, I have incentive to cook even more. But I cook the same things, over and over and over. I improvise but I improvise in the same ways and within the same boundaries.

I work with kids, but only during basketball season. I love coaching, and every year when the season ends, I think that I should find some other activity that lets me keep working with kids during the rest of the year. So far I have not done so.

There are probably several other things I could add to the list: making or seeing music, more time with friends, more time traveling. I guess it's a question of prioritization and really owning the choices that you make -- and finding a way to be fully engaged with whatever it is that you're choosing to do. And even still there won't be enough time.